Shyamendra Singh, who runs a tourist camp inside the reserve for the last 21 years and is a member of the MP Wildlife Board keeps a record of every tiger sighting by his guests. He vouches only for two sightings — of different tigers — since October. “It’s a serious crisis, I am convinced there are no more than five tigers left in the reserve. That would be the outer limit,” he says pointing out that not just sightings, but pugmarks, too, are absent.

Additional Chief Conservator of Wildlife in Madhya Pradesh H S Pabla claims as many as 20 sightings since October but, incidentally, all of them by the forest officials and not by tourists.

“Right now, we do not have much to worry about. But of course, we are constantly assessing the situation,” he said. Pabla was in Delhi yesterday and left for Panna the next morning on what he said was a “routine” visit.

A bigger question, as well-known researcher Raghunandan Singh Chundawat points out, is whether there are any female tigers left in the reserve. Pabla said the 20 sightings by forest officials included females as well. But Shyamendra Singh remembers just one tigress sighting by forest guards in October.

A pointer to the crisis is the fact that the tiger reserve has announced cash rewards for people who are able to find a tigress: Rs 10,000 has been announced for the sighting of a tigress with cubs, and Rs 2000 for a tigress. A week back, local people reportedly also performed a puja inside the reserve to invoke a legendary baba who is supposed to have been very dear to the tigers.

... contd.